Usage level and future intent of use of quick response (QR) codes for mobile marketing among college students in Turkey

Abstract

Quick Response (QR) Codes are becoming a part of our lives. As mobile technologies are booming, QR codes are being used for various purposes, one of which is for mobile marketing. In this study, our goal was to investigate the current use and future intent of use of QR codes in mobile marketing among college students. We surveyed 241 college students in the beginning of 2013. The findings indicate that while more than 80% of students recognized QR codes, only half of them had used QR codes before. Furthermore, while the interest in using QR codes is currently low, the likelihood of using them is slightly higher than the current interest. Therefore, we can simply conclude that we are more likely to see higher adoption levels of QR codes among the traditional-age college students in the future. However, we also believe that mobile marketers need to find ways to promote the use of QR codes, teach how to use them, and increase adoption levels if they want to benefit from this new technology.